Chp. 9: Brawling In The Soup
January 24, 2005
Kinglane, Lenish Chakari
The recording studios for the Lenish Broadcasting Corporation always included a soundstage big enough for an orchestra. It was part of the company's dedication to preserving the arts of symphony and stage. Vanessa liked to come down early to work on her piano skills. She stretched her fingers and gently tapped them down the keys, humming the scale as she went along. Troy, one of her fellow violinists, has suggested they maybe try and mix in some folk songs for their weekly performance. He'd reasoned that those fighting the war would enjoy it, citing his father's time in the service. Vanessa knew a few, and was considering ways to make others sound more like that. The tack piano she was at certainly helped. She heard footsteps crossing the stage, but paid them little mind until they closed in on her.
"Miss Robbins?"
Vanessa looked up from the instrument at the production assistant, a mousy girl named Maddie. She held out a piece of paper to the musician and cleared her throat.
"One of the PR girls, a friend of mine, said someone sent an email directly asking for you. He'd apparently done so a few times, but they never got through. He says he knew you in secondary school? If you don't feel comfortable about it, I can throw it in the garbage and report the matter." She said, speaking a bit rapidly.
The redhead considered that possibility for a moment. Even with her homeland occupied and her work now happening across the sea, the same risks a celebrity faced remained.
"What makes this time any different?" Vanessa questioned.
"I suggested she let you take a look. We were having coffee together and she was complaining about it." Maddie replied with uncertainty.
Vanessa searched her thoughts and weighed the options. After a minute she held out a hand.
"It's probably some infatuated teenage boy. I should at least give it a read for his sake." She sighed with a knowing smile.
Maddie choked back a laugh, but Vanessa kept smiling and accepted the letter. The woman almost said something, but the glib observation was almost too much. The other woman excused herself before she started giggling again, leaving Vanessa to read the letter.
To Whom it May Concern,
I'm trying to reach Vanessa Robbins. I'm an old classmate and friend of hers and am currently serving in the war. I wish to speak to her and thank her for her wonderful music. I also wish to make my peace with her as the war grows evermore dangerous…
She stopped and went down to the bottom of the message, already confident she knew who'd written this. Sure enough, the title "Flight Officer Arthur Morrison, RAF" was what she read. It spread a bittersweet smile across her face. Oh Arthur, you're still a schoolboy at heart aren't you? She thought. In all honesty, it was a pretty poorly-written attempt to contact her, and could easily be mistaken for a lovestruck teen's. She set the paper next to her notes above the piano keys and started playing again. Fond memories came back to her of her underclassman and his crush on her. She always held him close to her heart, even if it wasn't in a romantic way. She was surprised he'd joined the military, but the patriotic fervor that'd swept Lenshire could've easily have gotten to him. He never did like being looked down on, she remembered.
That made having to break his heart again all the less pleasant. She would have to be firm, but keep his situation and feelings in mind. The obvious problem was their circumstances, compounded upon by her budding romance with the dark-haired Troy. Cinderella stories were all well and good in fiction only. The redhead slowed her thoughts and frowned a bit. No, she told herself, that would have to be how it was done. Arthur was a good man, and she knew he'd understand what she was saying. Even if it took time. She'd make sure to let him down easy, and let him know he was still important to her. Maybe soon they'd be able to return to happier times, and they could continue their friendship. She tapped the keys a few times and started a song she felt appropriate for the situation. She went off after a third of the song to ask Maddie if they could do a quick recording session…
Fighter pilots don't like clouds. In a profession where visibility is the key to surviving, being plunged into a place where you couldn't see was pretty self-explanatory. It was the only way that Lieutenant Benjamin Hardy and his RIO (Radar Intercept Officer) were currently surviving, though. He rolled his Tomcat inverted and guided it through the small gap between two clouds, while Sub-Lieutenant Liam Taumata kept looking for the Su-33s that'd ambushed the strike package. The Eruseans had quickly closed in to knife-fighting range and had split the escorts in all directions. The second half of his flight couldn't be raised on the radio. He ended up below most of the cover, but that had him practically in the woods below.
"Spearfish 1-1 this is Spearfish 1-2, what's your position?" Benji radioed.
"We're still engaged with that second pair, Benji. Be advised there might be additional bandits at low level." Lieutenant Commander Mike Goddard replied.
"Now he fackin' tells us." Liam grunted over the intercom.
"Forget it Tarantula and keep looking for those Flankers."
Benji drank in all the scenery he could as they were in the clear for a few seconds. His eyes spotted movement in the early-morning drizzle, shapes which turned out to be MiG-29s. They were out of position, though; he took full advantage of that and slipped back into the clouds. Tarantula caught sight of the Su-33s as they were circling above as they went through another cloud. They spotted the lone Tomcat at the same time and spread out to box the two Auckladers in. Benji broke hard right and dumped a lot of his momentum to make them overshoot. He relented only when he started bleeding too much. The aviator leveled out and went into a shallow climb, pushing the throttles forward steadily until his nerve reached its limit.
"Sky Eye, Sky Eye this is Spearfish 1-2; do you have any help for us? The bandits are eating us alive." Tarantula hissed.
"Copy that Spearfish, Pandora 2 is pushing towards your position. Heading 110, two minutes out." Their AWACS radioed.
Benji looked at his position, then the heading the friendly aircraft were supposedly coming from. He finally ran out of clouds, but the promise of friendlies arriving helped cement his will. The F-14 burst from the clouds well above the world, and the Flankers were soon to follow.
"Spearfish 1 this is Pandora 2, we're approaching maximum range for our AMRAAMs. Keep them up high like you just did and we'll have a better chance of hitting." Abel radioed.
"We'll do our best, Pandora." Benji replied.
Arthur let his radar select the nearest contacts, demanding their attention. Privateer let him loosen up the pair even more as unfriendly radars started to turn their attention towards the four Typhoons. He felt an odd buzz as his Captor radar pierced the clouds and picked out all the targets. Even if he couldn't engage them all, it felt powerful to know where each one was. Especially after it appeared the Eruseans had downed a significant part of his allies. He chose the closest two to engage.
"Pandora 24, once you've engaged, you're free to push. Stay within 10 kilometers whenever possible." Abel instructed.
"Understood Pandora 23." Arthur replied as the symbols on his HUD and displays began to line up.
"Pandora 24, Fox 3 Fox 3." He added a second later.
Two of his six AMRAAMs dropped from their stations and hurtled towards a pair of Su-33s above the clouds. After the missiles were clear of his jet, he broke to the left and pushed ahead of Abel's jet. The move pointed him at a pair of MiG-29s that were spiraling upwards into the fight. Most of the bandits in the immediate area seemed to either be them or Su-33s. Arthur tightened his muscles and rolled over into his next attack. He looked towards the AMRAAMs' path and saw them go up. Another glance a few seconds later showed that one had landed and either killed or incapacitated one of the Flankers. His mind was quickly elsewhere.
"Pandora 23, Pandora 24 has spotted additional bandits at low level. They're ascending to join the attack. Spearfish, what's your status?" He declared.
"Got those bandits off of us for now, mate. Thanks for the help." Benji reported.
"Spearfish 1-1, what's the status of the rest of your flight?" Abel cut in.
"All aircraft are attempting to close in on my position. Spearfish 1-2, are you able to rejoin?"
"Copy, standby."
Arthur was now within visual range of the two Fulcrums. He throttled back and pulled out of his roll. The MiGs moved as a unit, breaking left when he tried to split them. Arthur passed to the outside of their move and turned into them again. The lead Erusean started to slow, and Arthur instead followed through with his attack so he could come around again. This time, he'd selected his cannon. Arthur adjusted the throttles again and led the enemy formation as they banked slightly towards him. He went for the trailing aircraft, theorizing that if he led it too far, he'd hit the other MiG. Or at least scare them both into splitting up. He swept in and fired a burst at the enemy jets. The trailing MiG dumped speed and nearly stood up on its back half.
"Shite!" Arthur blurted.
He shoved the control stick forward and ducked his head down. The two MiGs ended up passing by on his left, with one of them in the vertical. Arthur banked right and nosed up as well, now in afterburner. He slowed as he came around, and the MiGs were finally splitting up. The wingman went long and banked to the right while his leader went towards Arthur. The RAF pilot lunged at the first bandit, then weaved back to the right. He checked his instruments as they approached a cloud and saw he and Abel were slowly sandwiching the Eruseans between them.
"Privateer, I'm heading your way with two Fulcrums. We might be able to trap them between us." He announced as he returned to his long-range weapons..
"Roger…okay I see the two of them. Come to 005 to avoid smacking into me. I'll push the remaining Flanker into the mix if I can." Abel replied.
"Copy, Spearfish?"
"We'll try and corral some more. Additional friendlies are coming from 090, watch your fire."
No sooner had Arthur felt relief that the numbers were shifting in ISAF's favor than did they enter the cloud. The windscreen was covered in a sheen of water, which was quickly pushed away by the Typhoon's speed. Arthur selected the nearest MiG as it appeared briefly and checked his position. His instincts had told him that the other Fulcrum would try and stand itself up again, then take a shot at him. He nosed up, mindful of his radar's field of view, and popped out of the clouds. Privateer's Typhoon and the second Flanker appeared in a clearing amongst all the gray and white. He looked back and saw the other MiG behind him, where he'd imagined (more accurately, feared) it would be. He deployed countermeasures and broke to the right, still trying to keep the other Erusean in his grasp. He held on as long as he could until he saw a flash out of the corner of his eye.
"Pandora 24, Fox 3 Fox 3!" He called, gulping down what air he could before the Gs built up.
The two missiles went their own way and let him maneuver against the Archer that was practically on top of him. He yelled every insult he could think of at himself as he deployed more flares and pulled as hard to the right as he could. The plane warned him that what he was doing would over-G the jet, but he ignored it in favor of survival. The Typhoon rapidly lost speed, even as he pushed the throttles almost all the way forward. His vision became distorted, then returned to normal as he broke left. He groaned again and tightened his muscles as he dove down, piercing the clouds below the growing fight. As he sank below 2800 meters above the ground, he caught sight of the remains of a MiG-29 as it hurtled towards the hills. Two spots of gray diverted his attention, and their familiar shape was followed up by a familiar voice.
"Pandora 21 and 22 are entering the fight from below." Martin assured confidently.
"Copy Longbow, be advised that we've got multiple bandits in the clouds. At least five to seven in the immediate area." Abel advised.
"Yeah like the bloody one behind me." Arthur couldn't help but complain.
Arthur didn't want to let the other two take the MiG, though. His embarrassment had meant he wanted to restore his personal sense of honor. That Fulcrum and its pilot were his.
"Stay in that turn, Knight! Got the bastard in my clutches." Longdon assured.
Eugene, Longdon's wingman, stayed on the straight and level while his lead broke off to assist. Arthur still wanted the MiG, though, and broke to the right when it pulled away and accelerated.
"Watch ya spacing, Knight!" His superior warned.
Arthur jerked to the left, then came back as he fell in next to Longdon. Eugene turned towards them before he could stray too far. Longdon sent a single ASRAAM in pursuit of the Erusean, while Arthur started closing afterwards to trap the MiG. Eugene moved to do the same, but the missile plucked the Fulcrum from the sky before it could reach the clouds.
"Pandora 23, what's your position?" Arthur asked, checking his radar.
"About 7 Kilometers off your ten with Spearfishes 1-1 and 1-2. Got a fresh flight of Flankers coming in from 288." Abel replied.
The first contact Arthur picked up, however, was much closer. Another pair of Fulcrums, each pointing in opposite directions. Their radars were off, but he recognized the signature.
"Privateer, got two more Fulcrums at low level. At least one of them is approaching you."
One of them greeted his attention by firing off two AA-11s at the approaching Typhoons. One streaked towards Longdon, and the other towards Eugene. Arthur still deployed flares as he broke left, then swung back around to give his ASRAAMs a better shot. He rolled downwards, balancing his speed as the clouds drew nearer and nearer. The MiG broke away from the Lenish fighters with Arthur still on him. Arthur caught the twinkle of an explosion reflected on his canopy and looked back. Longdon's Typhoon was running from the fireball, though his jet had several ugly gashes on it. Arthur moved his jet to block the MiG from getting another shot.
"Longbow, are you still there?" He called.
"I have control of the aircraft! Get that MiG, Knight." The senior man replied. He almost sounded like he was laughing.
"Copy…Pandora 24, Fox 2." Arthur replied, somewhat bewildered, even if it was Longdon.
"Longbow, I'm moving to cover you. Turn to Heading 110 and get above the clouds if possible." Eugene advised.
He again followed up a missile shot by closing in with his second missile at the ready. The instant he saw the Fulcrum deploying flares, he let that AIM-132 track the heat from its engine nozzles. The RD-33s produced a heat that nothing could fully mask. Arthur closed in on the MiG's radar return, then pushed the launch button as its nose emerged from a cloud.
"Pandora 24, Fox 2." He stressed.
The missile left its rail and Arthur switched to his cannon. The two fighters were almost right next to one-another, giving the Erusean almost no time to escape. Arthur, who'd been leading the MiG for his cannon, stayed to the left, then reversed as the remains of the MiG tumbled past behind him. He eased his plane down, under the white expanses, and searched for more targets to take on. He still had plenty of fuel and ammo, and he was raring to give the Eruseans a good thrashing.
"Pandora, Spearfish, Sky Eye has detected new bandits. Multiple aircraft at low level at Heading 200, 80 Kilometers. Exact number unknown at this time; radar signature suggests Viggens." His AWACS reported.
"Understood Sky Eye, anymore friendly aircraft inbound?" Spearfish 1-1 radioed.
"We've rerouted two CAPs to assist, callsign Viper. Vectoring them to attack those low-level contacts head-on, so watch your position."
"Spearfish, where's the rest of the strike package you were with?" Arthur asked.
"Still hitting their targets. SEAD boys would be our best bet."
Arthur simply acknowledged as he and Abel returned to a tight formation. They picked out the JA 37s after a few seconds and arced over so their noses were aimed directly at the fighter bombers. The Viggens simply kept moving as fast as they could while apparently relying on any dedicated fighters in the area. Arthur detected at least two unfriendly airborne radars on his RWR, but until they focused on him he remained committed to the Viggens. The two Typhoons spread out again to try and force the enemy jets towards four Tornado F.3s pushing inland. Arthur rested one digit near his weapons selection as the fighter worked out the last calculations, then pressed the launch button twice yet again. His call had barely left his mouth before he was breaking hard left, then going right as he pushed into a descending spiral. He had a visual on his AMRAAMs the entire time as they scrambled downwards towards their targets. He spotted one of the Erusean jets as its camouflage body dashed across the hills and declared it to be his, switching back to his cannon. Abel took the next closest one, splitting the two. Arthur pulled back on the throttles and the Viggen broke to the right. Arthur could see two MTO 85s under its wings.
"Sky Eye this is Pandora 23; be advised enemy aircraft at low level are carrying anti-ship missiles. Repeat, the Viggens have ASMs with them." Abel reported.
"Understood Pandora." The AWACS replied without much emotion.
Not that it was any surprise, Arthur thought. Much of ISAF's naval power was just off the coast. He checked his radar again and saw the Tornadoes were adjusting their intercept course. He led the enemy fighter and fired a burst at it. The Viggen reversed, but the extra weight kept it handicapped. Arthur drew in a breath and steadied his nerves. He jumped on the Viggen's sluggish moves and kept his throttles in the mid-range. The Viggen, seeing him close in, dumped his speed. Arthur did the same and cut into the bandit, pulling the trigger as he did, the first dozen or so bullets were fired at empty air, but the rest dragged along the length of the Viggen as it made its move. Arthur had a precious few seconds before he was passing the bandit. He looked back as he accelerated and climbed, then turned and slowed to make another pass.
"Pandora this is Viper 11, we have you and the bandits on radar. Keep pushing them on a southeasterly heading." One of the Tornado pilots reported.
"Understood, Viper. Knight, move to my left and see who else you can force in that direction." Abel replied.
Arthur nosed up and went behind his lead as the man was outside a second Viggen's turn. His RWR told him that other jets in the area had decided to slow and push the Typhoons ahead of them. Arthur hadn't determined what they'd been carrying as defensive armament, so he deployed flares and chaff simultaneously. He saw one of the Viggens running for the clouds and started towards it, but spotted another Viggen as it fired an AP-8. He broke towards the attack while the Viggen turned towards him, but was unable to match the other fighter. Arthur rolled to the right and made it around and behind the Erusean. He couldn't get right behind it in time, but he was out of immediate danger for now. He used his gun to further convince the JA 37 to head towards Viper. At the same time, one of those airborne radars finally picked him out. He was only able to force the Viggen to the right once more before he turned to throw off the Flankers.
"Pandora 23, Pandora 24 is Winchester on ammo and approaching Bingo Fuel." He reported.
"Okay, move towards Viper if possible and I'll rejoin you there. Spearfish, suggest you do the same, mate!" Abel replied.
"Spearfish is heading south to link up with the rest of its parent strike. Good luck, Pandora, and thanks for the help." Spearfish 1-1 replied.
The four Tornadoes started picking out any targets in range of their AMRAAMs while Arthur stayed low and fast. He turned off his radar to help slow the inevitable fusilade of AA-12s and decided to go even lower as some hills appeared in the misty distance. His RWR told him that at least four aircraft were searching now, but still only two had any idea of where he was. The Viggens had forgotten him completely, it seemed, as they scrambled to get out of the Tornadoes' reach. He had to restrict his maneuvers to avoid burning more fuel than he wanted.
"Pandora 24, I've got a visual on you. Coming down from your five o'clock high, so don't shoot me." Abel radioed.
Arthur looked over his shoulder and saw the other Typhoon descending.
"Got a visual on you, Privateer. Plane looks good." He replied.
"Privateer, Knight, we're nearing the coast. We'll circle a few times once we're in range of friendly ships so you can rejoin us. Should be a Tristar somewhere around there. We'll move back in to cover you if needed." Longdon chimed in.
Arthur had to smile, even as he was still trying to escape the Flankers. It was typical of Longdon, and what made him so popular. Still, no ammo, almost no countermeasures, and decreasing fuel was going to make for a long trip home. Even in the midst of the landings, it was easy to feel isolated. He followed the curve of a few hills until the RWR calmed down, and the Flankers decided not to toy with the ISAF armada. He quietly tried to imagine Vanessa's voice willing him on, and hoped it would somehow help. There were still other Viggens out there, though.